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COLUMBUS — Cherie Carroll was the “gatekeeper’’ in Gov. Bob Taft’s office for those who wanted the ear of her powerful boss, chief of staff Brian Hicks.

Tom Noe didn’t have problems getting through Ms. Carroll’s gate. In fact, she helped him get to the White House and to President Bush’s top advisers, e-mails released by the governor’s office show.

When Mr. Bush hosted the Ohio State University football team after it won the national championship for the 2002 season, Ms. Carroll made sure that there was a seat for Mr. Noe, a big campaign contributor to the governor and the President.

Once Mr. Noe was in the White House on Feb. 24, 2003, his itinerary included an “Ohio political strategy session’’ with Ken Mehlman, who was later named Mr. Bush’s campaign manager and Collister “Coddy’’ Johnson, later named the campaign’s field director.

A listing of the day’s events said Karl Rove, who is credited as the “architect” of Mr. Bush’s political career, was “likely’’ to attend the political strategy session at the White House, according to a Feb. 21, 2003, e-mail from David Rachelson, then the White House’s associate political director from Ohio.

The one-hour strategy session was scheduled to include several people, including Mr. Noe. A White House spokesman yesterday could not confirm Mr. Noe’s attendance at the meeting or other events that day.

In an earlier e-mail, Mr. Johnson, the former White House associate director of political affairs, provided Brian Hicks’ work and cell phone numbers to Mr. Rove.

In response to public records requests from The Blade and other Ohio newspapers, Mr. Taft’s office yesterday released about 5,000 pages of e-mails from and to Ms. Carroll, 34.

In late May, Inspector General Tom Charles asked Mr. Taft for e-mails, phone records, and personnel files for Mr. Hicks and three other current and former employees, including Ms. Carroll.

“During the course of our investigation, information has come to light that certain members of the governor’s staff may have received lodging accommodations and other items by Mr. Noe,” Mr. Charles wrote in a letter to the governor’s office.

Mr. Hicks resigned as Mr. Taft’s chief of staff in 2003 to start his own lobbying and consulting firm, and Ms. Carroll joined him.

That firm, Hicks Partners, was hired by the Bush-Cheney campaign and the Republican National Committee to raise money in Ohio for the President’s re-election campaign. The fund-raising included an October, 2003, lunch event in Columbus that raised $1.4 million for the campaign.

The U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI are investigating whether Mr. Noe has violated federal campaign finance laws and have focused on contributions made at that fund-raiser, which Mr. Noe attended.

Three days after Governor Taft, Mr. Hicks, and Lt. Gov. Jennette Bradley received their invitations to the OSU celebration at the White House, Ms. Carroll had another request for the President’s staff.

In a Feb. 6, 2003, e-mail, Ms. Carroll asked the White House’s associate director of political affairs to make room for Mr. Noe. The celebration was scheduled for Feb. 24, 2003.

“The chairman of the Ohio Board of Regents will be in DC on the 24th and asked if he could attend the OSU event at the White House?’’ Ms. Carroll wrote in an e-mail to Mr. Johnson, the associate director of political affairs. “His name is Tom Noe and is a strong supporter of President Bush and Governor Taft. Please advise.’’

The message continued, “I will also be in DC w/Governor Taft that week — would it be possible for me to attend? If not, I totally understand.’’

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‘Looks like we’re in’

About a half-hour after Ms. Carroll contacted the White House, she wrote Mr. Noe: “Looks like we’re in.’’

Less than a week later, Mr. Noe asked for another guest, Dwayne Sattler, a former aide to Republican U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine and a consultant, to also be allowed into the event.

“Tom asked me to forward you the info of the person he will have with him in DC — again, if this doesn’t work out — Tom understands ... please note: Bernadette Noe will NOT be attending,’’ wrote Ms. Carroll, referring to Mr. Noe’s wife.

Mr. Johnson replied from the White House: “We need your help in keeping numbers down — I really had to go to bat to get Brian, and then you and Tom, into the event — considering how many folks are coming, social office limited it to elected officials and I am fighting with them daily to keep the list as it is — thanks for your help on this!’’

Ms. Carroll also asked that Jon Allison, now Mr. Taft’s chief of staff, and Orest Holubec, his communications director, be allowed to attend the event.

Mr. Johnson replied, “I really want them to get in ... all you guys do so much for us...’’

At the same time, Ms. Carroll worked to get a White House tour during the February, 2003, visit for herself and two guests, Mr. Noe and Mr. Sattler.

The e-mails do not confirm whether Mr. Noe got the White House tour, but do list the political strategy session with top Bush aides.
The meeting was to take place from 3 to 4 p.m. and include “current and past elected officials.”

Other e-mails showed the close relationship that Mr. Noe appeared to have with key members of the governor’s staff.

In January, 2001, Ms. Carroll instructed an employee in the governor’s office to “put 3 tickets at the front desk for Tom Noe.’’ The use of the tickets is unclear.

In an e-mail from Ms. Carroll to Doug Moorman, the governor’s former executive assistant for business and industry, she refers to Mr. Noe simply as “Noe.’’

“Noe told me to tell you he was stopping by today around 2:30 p.m.,’’ Ms. Carroll wrote in a message to Mr. Moorman on Feb. 20, 2003.

Going-away party

In July, 2003, when Mr. Moorman announced he was leaving the governor’s office to become vice president of governmental affairs for the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Noe was invited to his going-away party.

“I’ll be in Cinci and need to get back for the Maggie and Bernie Show!!!!’’ Mr. Noe wrote in an e-mail to Ms. Carroll, referring to Lucas County Commissioner Maggie Thurber, and his wife, Bernadette Noe. “Give Doug a big hug for me... :)’’

Later in July, 2004, Mr. Noe could not attend a going-away party for Ms. Carroll, when she left the governor’s office to join Mr. Hicks’ lobbying and consulting firm, Hicks Partners.

“I will be in Baltimore all of next week... I’m sad that I will miss THE party... give her big hugs for me,’’ Mr. Noe wrote.

In February, 2003, Corey Heritage, a senior consultant during Ms. Thurber’s 2002 county commissioner campaign, e-mailed his resume to Ms. Carroll, looking for help finding a government job in Albany, N.Y. Mr. Heritage had also worked as human resources director for Ms. Thurber when she was clerk of Toledo Muncipal Court.

“Tom Noe and Sam Thurber [Ms. Thurber’s husband] put me in touch with you,” Mr. Heritage wrote on Feb. 26, 2003. “I was just dropping you a line to see if you have heard anything from anyone in Albany.’’

Ms. Carroll’s e-mails also document several contacts she had with Mr. Sattler, whom she described in an e-mail to Mr. Hicks as a “good friend of mine.’’

On Dec 20, 2002, she invited Mr. Sattler to join her and the governor’s communications director, Ann Husted, for lunch on Jan. 10 to discuss the “Third Frontier and how it is connected with the Board of Regents.’’

Mr. Sattler said yes, and Ms. Carroll replied “we will dine ... at the fine establishment of Mitchell’s’’ — a popular upscale steakhouse in Columbus.

“I made reservations but used your name — they like you better!!!” Ms. Carroll wrote to Ms. Husted, who joined Mr. Hicks and Ms. Carroll when they moved from the governor’s office to become lobbyists.

In July, 2002, Mr. Sattler began to receive $6,500 monthly payments from a group that oversees job-training programs in the Columbus area, the Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corp.

Last year, he resigned as the group’s interim director after Franklin County commissioners learned that Mr. Sattler had worked as a lobbyist for two firms that had received contracts from the agency: Euclid-based EmployOn and Columbus State Community College.

According to U.S. House of Representatives’ records, Mr. Sattler’s firm, Network Government Relations, is registered to lobby for the Ohio Board of Regents, EmployOn, Columbus State Community College, the Ohio Supercomputing Center, and TolTest.

Mr. Noe was appointed by Gov. George Voinovich to serve on the Ohio Board of Regents and reappointed by Gov. Bob Taft.

The Ohio Board of Regents formerly hired the firm that Mr. Sattler worked for, Wise & Associates, for lobbying in Washington, D.C., but then retained Mr. Sattler’s new emploer in 2004, Network Government Relations.

In a March 24, 2003, letter to David Payne, a Taft aide in charge of appointments to boards and commissions, Mr. Sattler outlined why Mr. Taft should appoint him to the BGSU board of trustees.

In addition to saying that BGSU is his “alma mater,” Mr Sattler wrote that he had worked for Mr. DeWine and for the U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, which he said oversees federal education policy.

On May 5, Ms. Carroll made a personal appeal on behalf of Mr. Sattler to Mr. Hicks.

“The final point to make to you about Dwayne is that he hasn’t asked Sen. DeWine to make a call on his behalf because the Senator always makes it a point to tell Dwayne he is the reason Dwayne has excelled in his career ... and while we know that is true ... if Dwayne were chosen to sit on the Board at BGSU, he would like to do it on his own ... or at least separate from DeWine ... proving that perhaps things can happen without the Senator being directly involved,” Ms. Carroll wrote.

In a June 2, 2003, e-mail to fellow Taft aide Anne Dean, Ms. Carroll wrote: “I know Dwayne Sattler isn’t getting the appointment for BGSU — but can you tell me if Maggie Thurber (Lucas County commissioner) wrote a letter in support of him?”

E-mails released yesterday did not include a response.

On June 23, 2003, Mr. Taft announced he had appointed John E. Moore, Jr., executive director of a historic preservation group in Dayton, to the BGSU board of trustees.

After leaving the governor’s office, Mr. Hicks ran the Issue 1 campaign, which urged Ohio voters in November, 2003, to allow the state to issue up to $500 million in bonds. It was designed to be the final phase of Mr. Taft’s 10-year, $1.6 billion program to help create “high-tech, high-paying jobs.’’

Despite Mr. Hicks running a campaign that raised $3.3 million, including $300,000 from Procter & Gamble and $200,000 from FirstEnergy, voters rejected Issue 1 by a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent.

Ethics a concern

Ethics were also a concern mentioned in the e-mails.

In 2003, Ms. Carroll received a memo about Mr. Taft’s 1999 executive order mandating that his cabinet directors, assistant cabinet directors, and senior staff receive four hours of ethics training every two years.

“We will cover conflicts of interest, public contracting, nepotism, revolving door issues, and financial disclusure [sic],’’ wrote Judith L. French, Mr. Taft’s chief legal counsel.

Mr. Taft is facing a probe from the Ohio Ethics Commission for errors and omissions on his financial disclosure forms for golf outings he never reported. It’s a violation of state law for a public official to accept free golf outings from people doing business with his or her agency.

Hundreds of pages of e-mails document Ms. Carroll’s communication with the Republican Governors Association, an organization that assists in the election of GOP gubernatorial candidates.

Mr. Taft was chairman of RGA in 2004, during Mr. Bush’s re-election campaign.

In a Nov. 18, 2002, e-mail between Ms. Carroll and Robyn Knecht, the events coordinator for the governors’ association, Ms. Carroll wrote about Mr. Hicks: “I need to get him signed up to play golf on Friday — can you take care of that?’’ The 2002 annual conference was in Dana Point, Calif.

Ms. Carroll later wrote, “He will need clubs! Is Governor Taft already signed up to play?’’

Staff Writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.
Contact James Drew at:jdrew@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.

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